Business as usual fights her fire—
            her reshaping;

her iron tongs grab
             frackers, drillers, extractors

by their stock options.
            She hammers hot metal

with the intensity of
            all the teenage Gretas

whose voices sere the ears
            of Wall Street financiers,

of politicians who ignore
            crackling ice, drowning

islands, dying phytoplankton,
            gasping seals.

At Kildare her flame burns
            bright with creation—scent

of hope fighting for breath even as
            carrion rules the day.

Killer whales’ whistles haunt
             the Irish sea, barn owls scream,

a school of herring darts
              under her wing.

Nan Lundeen has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction at, among others: Atlanta Review, Connecticut River Review, Steam Ticket, Illuminations, Yemassee, The Petigru Review, Evening Street Review, patheos.com, and U.K.’s Writing Magazine. The retired, award-winning journalist lives in southwestern Michigan and holds an M.A. from Western Michigan University.